10 Quotes That Will Surely Motivate You When Facing Huge Challenges

When you’re going through something truly difficult, or if you have hit a roadblock, you may just want to roll over and give up. Everyone feels like that sometimes when they are facing challenges. But that’s where inspirational quotes come in! Hooray!

But really, some of these quotes are truly poignant, and might be just what you need to change your perspective and see your struggles for what they are: an opportunity.

1. “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” ~ Bill Cosby

Often, our stresses involve people: people not approving of your decisions, or wanting to change how you live your life, or even change you as a person.

Bill Cosby knows what’s up. It’s impossible to please everybody, and if you attempt to do it, you’ll completely abandon any goals you had for yourself. If you believe you’re doing the right thing, do it. And if anybody objects, pull on your Cosby sweater and give them a good, intimidating stare.

2. “Nothing is more powerful than allowing yourself to be truly affected by things.” ~ Zooey Deschanel

So you’re really sad about something. That’s okay. Let it all out.

Our society seems to think that if you’re sad, or angry, or anything but happy really, that it’s a terrible thing. Of course, you should strive to be generally happy. But you’re allowed to have fleeting moments of intense emotions, even if they hurt.

If you’re facing a huge challenge that is truly difficult, let your emotions out, and talk to people you care about. Allow yourself to be affected.

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Okay, maybe not quite that intensely.

3. “If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try.” ~ Seth Godin

Maybe your challenge involves being scared out of your wits, because you’re afraid to fail, or you’re going into completely uncharted territory.

Embrace that fear and just do it. On your deathbed, you won’t regret trying—but you will most definitely regret not trying just because you were afraid.

4. “Every flower must grow through dirt.” ~ Unknown

I love this quote. And it’s true: if you’re going to grow, flourish, and bloom, you’re going to have to work yourself through some dirt first.

Just keep on growing.

5. “Failure is a bruise, not a tattoo.” ~ Jon Sinclair

So many people fear failure—often, more than anything else—but it’s something everybody does at some point.

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You’re learning. Just like walking or riding a bike, the beginning stages might involve a few tumbles and a few bruises. That’s all failure is. It’s a little fall, and it’s a bruise. You get back up, brush yourself off, and keep on going. Soon, the bruise will be completely gone.

I mean, unless your failure involves something like this:

Can’t help ya there, bud.

6. “I said, ‘Somebody should do something about that.’ Then I realized, I am somebody.” ~ Lily Tomlin

You can, and will, make mistakes. But never make the mistake of thinking that you can’t enact change.

When life’s giving you some hurdles, it can be easy to feel small and insignificant. But that is never the case.

You can change the world.

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7. “Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

This is just a little tidbit I found on Pinterest that really resonated with me. There’s going to be a point when even the most dedicated of us doubt our paths.

When you are going after your dreams, you’re trying something totally wild. Of course you’re going to feel like a fish out of water every now and then. Don’t flop around and freak out—just keep on swimming, like this overly extended metaphor is.

The Secret to Effective Conflict Resolution: The IBR Approach

In business, in social relationships, in family… In whatever context conflict is always inevitable, especially when you are in the leader role. This role equals “make decisions for the best of majority” and the remaining are not amused. Conflicts arise.

Conflicts arise when we want to push for a better quality work but some members want to take a break from work.

Conflicts arise when we as citizens want more recreational facilities but the Government has to balance the needs to maintain tourism growth.

Conflicts are literally everywhere.

Avoiding Conflicts a No-No and Resolving Conflicts a Win-Win

Avoiding conflicts seem to be a viable option for us. The cruel fact is, it isn’t. Conflicts won’t walk away by themselves. They will, instead, escalate and haunt you back even more when we finally realize that’s no way we can let it be.

Moreover, avoiding conflicts will eventually intensify the misunderstanding among the involved parties. And the misunderstanding severely hinders open communication which later on the parties tend to keep things secret. This is obviously detrimental to teamwork.

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Some may view conflicts as the last step before arguments. And they thus leave it aside as if they never happen. This is not true.

Conflicts are the intersect point between different individuals with different opinions. And this does not necessarily lead to argument.

Instead, proper handling of conflicts can actually result in a win-win situation – both parties are pleased and allies are gained. A better understanding between each other and future conflicts are less likely to happen.

The IBR Approach to Resolve Conflicts

Here, we introduce to you an effective approach to resolve conflicts – the Interest-Based Relational (IBR) approach. The IBR approach was developed by Roger Fisher and William Ury in their 1981 book Getting to Yes. It stresses the importance of the separation between people and their emotions from the problem. Another focus of the approach is to build mutual understanding and respect as they strengthen bonds among parties and can ultimately help resolve conflicts in a harmonious way. The approach suggests a 6-step procedure for conflict resolution:

Step 1: Prioritize Good Relationships

How? Before addressing the problem or even starting the discussion, make it clear the conflict can result in a mutual trouble and through subsequent respectful negotiation the conflict can be resolved peacefully. And that brings the best outcome to the whole team by working together.

Why? It is easy to overlook own cause of the conflict and point the finger to the members with different opinions. With such a mindset, it is likely to blame rather than to listen to the others and fail to acknowledge the problem completely. Such a discussion manner will undermine the good relationships among the members and aggravate the problem.

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Example: Before discussion, stress that the problem is never one’s complete fault. Everyone is responsible for it. Then, it is important to point out our own involvement in the problem and state clearly we are here to listen to everyone’s opinions rather than accusing others.

Step 2: People Are NOT the Cause of Problem

How? State clearly the problem is never one-sided. Collaborative effort is needed. More importantly, note the problem should not be taken personally. We are not making accusations on persons but addressing the problem itself.

Why? Once things taken personally, everything will go out of control. People will become irrational and neglect others’ opinions. We are then unable to address the problem properly because we cannot grasp a fuller and clearer picture of the problem due to presumption.

Example: In spite of the confronting opinions, we have to emphasize that the problem is not a result of the persons but probably the different perspectives to view it. So, if we try to look at the problem from the other’s perspective, we may understand why there are varied opinions.

Step 3: Listen From ALL Stances

How? Do NOT blame others. It is of utmost importance. Ask for everyone’s opinions. It is important to let everyone feel that they contribute to the discussion. Tell them their involvement is essential to solve the problem and their effort is very much appreciated.

Why? None wants to be ignored. If one feels neglected, it is very likely for he/she to be aggressive. It is definitely not what we hope to see in a discussion. Acknowledging and being acknowledged are equally important. So, make sure everyone has equal opportunity to express their views. Also, realizing their opinions are not neglected, they will be more receptive to other opinions.

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Example: A little trick can played here: Invite others to talk first. It is an easy way to let others feel involved and ,more importantly, know their voices are heard. Also, we can show that we are actively listening to them by giving direct eye-contact and nodding. One important to note is that never interrupt anyone. Always let them finish first beforeanother one begins.

Step 4: Listen Comes First, Talk Follows

How? Ensure everyone has listened to one another points of view. It can be done by taking turn to speak and leaving the discussion part at last. State once again the problem is nothing personal and no accusation should be made.

Why? By turn-taking, everyone can finish talking and voices of all sides can be heard indiscriminantly. This can promote willingness to listen to opposing opinions.

Example: We can prepare pieces of paper with different numbers written on them. Then, ask different members to pick one and talk according to the sequence of the number. After everyone’s finished, advise everyone to use “I” more than “You” in the discussion period to avoid others thinking that it is an accusation.

Step 5: Understand the Facts, Then Address the Problem

How? List out ALL the facts first. Ask everyone to tell what they know about the problems.

Why? Sometimes your facts are unknown to the others while they may know something we don’t. Missing out on these facts could possibly lead to inaccurate capture of the problem. Also, different known facts can lead to different perception of the matter. It also helps everyone better understand the problem and can eventually help reach a solution.

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Example: While everyone is expressing their own views, ask them to write down everything they know that is true to the problem. As soon as everyone has finished, all facts can be noted and everyone’s understanding of the problem is raised.

Step 6: Solve the Problem Together

How? Knowing what everyone’s thinking, it is now time to resolve the conflict. Up to this point, everyone should have understood the problem better. So, it is everyone’s time to suggest some solutions. It is important not to have one giving all the solutions.

Why? Having everyone suggesting their solutions is important as they will not feel excluded and their opinions are considered. Besides, it may also generate more solutions that can better resolve the conflicts. Everyone will more likely be satisfied with the result.

Example: After discussion, ask all members to suggest any possible solutions and stress that all solutions are welcomed. State clearly that we are looking for the best outcomes for everyone’s sake rather than battling to win over one another. Then, evaluate all the solutions and pick the one that is in favor of everyone.